All That Glitters
by lovechangesusx
Summary: Elena Gilbert is a young writers assistant that just landed her dream job on the hottest TV show of the moment. Unfortunately for her, her dream job also involves working with Damon Salvatore, the male lead of the show and the person who is slowly unravelling everything she believed to be true about her world. AU/AH, M, multi-chapter.
1. Dreams

Hey guys. First of all I want to thank you so much for even opening this chapter. I have never been that dedicated a writer, in that normally, I get lots of small bursts of inspiration before it fades away. However this story was different. I have wanted to write this story for a long time, and I have failed once. Luckily I have planned basically everything out this time and I have mapped out quite a few chapters so it won't be as long between posts (as an avid FF reader myself, I hate it when you have to wait 35,000 years for an update but I am so guilty of it myself.)

I hope you enjoy this start. I plan to update every week so let me know what you think.

* * *

_All that is gold does not glitter,  
Not all those who wander are lost;  
The old that is strong does not wither,  
Deep roots are not reached by the frost._

* * *

_Chapter One | Dreams_

People talk about dreams more than anything else on this Earth and I don't mean the kind you have at night. I'm talking about the dreams that govern your very existence - your _dreams_. Everyone tells you what they are, why you need them, how to work your ass off to get to them, but no one really mentions what you do when you're holding your dreams so tight in your hand it feels like you're about to explode. And no-one talks about what to do when your dream leaves you.

But Elena knew.

Having been laughed out of eight studios with her writing in the past three months alone, she knew all about watching everything you have wanted evade you ever so slightly. And everything she wanted was to write. More specifically, to write for television. She was twenty-one and had somehow found herself marching into every major television network in LA over the last few months, smiling sweetly, and showing countless execs and producers the work she had done since leaving high school school.

She was from a small town called Mystic Falls, a place whose name was almost synonymous with despair. After losing her parents when she was seventeen, Elena had lived with her aunt Jenna and her brother, pouring everything she had into getting out of Mystic Falls and to LA, to write. After three years of working part-time at the local cable station and serving coffee to every low-life that passed through the town, Elena had decided enough was enough.

Now, she was struggling up the fire-escape of her new apartment with her old overstuffed suitcase, using one hand to search for the keys she had just been given by the real estate. It had been one of those days that people waxed lyrical about all over Facebook.

As she was leaving home, her aunt Jenna had fallen over and cut herself deeply resulting in her going to hospital. This was followed by the inevitable flight delay and then once she finally actually arrived in LA, her new housemate Bonnie had forgotten she was moving in today and wasn't home, so Elena had to run to the real estate to pick up the extra set of keys.

But even all these things couldn't dampen her mood.

She had gotten a phone call three days ago from Pearl Smith, a producer at Love Bites - one of the most popular shows in the country at the moment.

Although she thought she had destroyed any chance of getting a job there when she had misguidedly expressed her dislike for the male lead, but she was apparently a hit with the writers team. She had actually cried when she was told that would be a junior writers assistant to leader writer Rebekah Mikaelson, starting Monday.

She stomach turned when she thought of the question Pearl had asked her that day. _"So what do you think of the show?,"_ Pearl gave off the demeanour of being hard but she had a kind looking face. Not at all like the intimidating suited execs Elena had gotten in her interviews at other channels.

"I have watched it since the start and I'm loving it so far" Elena replied, not even having to lie. She HAD watched Love Bites since it started a year ago.

"But your male lead seems like a bit of a troublemaker," she had continued blindly. She tried to laugh it off as Pearl narrowed her eyes at her, but Elena knew it was too late. She had prayed for the ground to swallow her whole then and there and had kicked herself the whole train ride home.

She was as surprised as anyone when they called her two days later and told her she had actually gotten the job because the writing team had loved her samples.

But Elena was too honest for her own good and it often got her into trouble. The truth was, Damon Salvatore was a tabloid dream. He was known for his excessive partying, drug use, bedding slews of young women and for his bad behaviour in interviews just to name a few things. Elena hadn't heard much about him over the last few months though, so she supposed he was trying to get his act together.

It wasn't that she didn't like him, more that she didn't know him.

She pondered this as she forced her way through the wooden door. It was a sickly green and had a great deal of paint chipped away from it. Her new place wasn't beautiful, she knew, but it was close to the studio and most other things in LA, so it was a whole lot better than Mystic Falls.

Her new housemate wasn't here so she put her suitcase in the smallest of the two rooms and stepped out onto her balcony. She breathed in deeply, feeling relief sweep over her. She was finally here - LA stretched out beyond her, the expansive stretch of cityscape and trees making butterflies whirl in her stomach at the thought of all the adventures to come. She had never lived away from home before and as she stood alone on the balcony with the cool Californian wind sweeping her hair around her face, she had to admit she didn't miss it one bit.

* * *

_8:55_, Elena thought, glancing at her watch. Not too early, but early enough. Of course she had been there since 8:30, but she wasn't about to march in half an hour before her arrival time - she didn't want to look desperate.

Her cheap black heels clicked as she stepped cautiously into the lobby. It was an expansive room with a high ceiling and copious amounts of natural light that ricocheted off the large glass windows. In the centre of the room was a marble staircase that appeared as if it went on for floors and floors, twisting higher and higher out of sight. She also realised with despair that the lobby didn't appear to have an elevator.

_Of course I wore heels today_, she thought bitterly to herself, giving the staircase an annoyed glance.

She reluctantly climbed her way to the sixth floor and saw that it was very different to the Lobby. It was a much smaller room, still all marble and glass but it didn't have the same impressive effect. The ceiling was much lower and there was only one blonde girl sitting behind the reception desk. She was pale -in a beautiful way - slender, and could have been not much older than herself. Elena also noticed her Yves Saint Laurent shoes under the desk that she knew cost a small fortune, so she deduced the blonde was either rich or well connected.

The girl hadn't even glanced at her as she stepped off the 'staircase of hell' into the room and Elena clomped her way to the desk, hoping to attract some attention. She got it, as the girl jumped with a start and flashed her gaze up and down Elena, surveying her with narrowed eyes.

"Sorry we aren't doing studio tours today, sweetie" she gushed, pushing her blonde curls over her shoulder. She was playing distractedly with her computer and Elena felt a tinge of annoyance. _Sweetie_. She couldn't have been much younger than the girl in front of her, who looked no older than 22 unless she was using some very impressive skin treatment.

"Uh…sorry but I'm Elena. Elena Gilbert." She said, forcing herself not to blush. "This is my first day."

Her words caught the attention of the blonde and her blue eyes snapped up to meet Elena's warm brown ones.

"Oh my god. You're the girl that hates Damon Salvatore" she said, her eyes flashing excitedly.

Elena couldn't help the blush this time, and she felt warmth gather on her cheeks as she cursed the treachery of her body.

"I don-"

"It's okay, most people do. You're by no means original in that thought" the girl admitted, distracted by her computer again.

"Bu-"

"Ms Mikaelson is expecting you darling. You can go through now," she dismissed her smoothly, gesturing to a glass door behind her.

Fiddling with her bag, Elena went through the door that the receptionist had motioned to, giving her a cold smile as she passed. If she was going to be icy, two could play that game.

Elena walked cautiously into the office, aware that she was suddenly very warm. She wasn't usually one to get nervous, as she was always quite confident in the work she did, but she felt a tightness in her chest as if an iron hand was wrapping itself around her heart. Okay, maybe she was nervous.

Her new boss Rebekah Mikaelson sat behind a computer that was perched on top of a large oak desk which took up a good portion of the room. She didn't look up as Elena entered, and continued to stare at her illuminated screen, her fingers hitting the metallic keys of her Mac keyboard with a kind of delicate poise as she typed away. She looked like the kind of woman that didn't suffer fools lightly and Elena thanked the heavens that for the most part, she herself was no fool.

She couldn't have even been thirty years old, Elena mused, and felt a tinge of envy towards the woman sitting in front of her. She was stunning, with light blonde hair that was pulled up into a high bun, and flawless, pale skin with rosy cheeks. She was wearing a crisp white shirt that revealed just the right amount of chest, a light grey skirt and Elena noticed a huge diamond ring on her left hand.

'Miss Gilbert' she said suddenly, still not looking up from her computer.

Elena approached the desk and stood next to a wooden chair with a plush red cushion in the centre of it. She fiddled with the strap of her bag again, something she was forever doing when her stomach was full of butterflies and fixed her warm almond eyes on Rebekah's blue ones.

"Thank you for coming in, Elena," she said with a small smile. "I am buried under my work so any help is really appreciated," she confessed, shifting papers around her desk distractedly. "I nearly cried when they said I could have an assistant."

Now that she was closer to her, Elena could see fine lines under around Rebekah's eyes and the faint trace of dark shadows that had been concealed. Wondering why she was still standing, Elena made to sit down on the chair next to her.

"Don't bother sitting," quipped Rebekah, standing up suddenly. "We're going to meet the cast and crew, they are filming as we speak."

She brushed past Elena.

"You can take your things with you- for some ridiculous reason your office is downstairs. We will be going there on our way past," she said quickly. Elena resolved then and there that Rebekah seemed to do everything quickly and she was careful not to trip on the rug on the way out of the office. For some reason she didn't think it would go down too well.

* * *

Damon Salvatore choked down his espresso as he pushed open the door to the hair and makeup room. Typically, he was on time to work but this week had his head in a mess. He had been late three of four days he had worked so far and though he had gotten away with it, he knew he wasn't going to be lucky forever. His brain was brimming with the events of the last three days, and try as he may he couldn't seem to push his thoughts back to where they should be.

"Damon!" his makeup artist exclaimed as she saw him, rushing over to pull off his leather jacket.

"Rose, save it. I know, okay," he said, rubbing his tired eyes as he collapsed into the makeup chair.

She rummaged in her brushes, her painted-on eyebrows raised in disapproval. Rose was twenty-five years old about five foot tall. Like many other makeup artists in LA she was a little wild and hence had bright red hair that she was constantly adding other colours too. Her own make up never failed to shock Damon and he was thankful she kept it tame when doing his camera makeup. Painting someone's face and pulling their hair into a style for an hour a day wasn't the best way to make friends, but this was Hollywood. Damon and Rose had become friends almost straight away and he kind of loved her 'I-don't-really-give-a-fuck' attitude.

"_I_ don't give a crap that you are an _hour_ late, but Pearl has come in here twice looking for you. I covered for you but… jesus Damon".

He smiled a muted version of his multi-million dollar smile at her and slumped in the chair a little.

"Thanks Rose. I owe you" he said, as he ran a hand through his disheveled mop of dark hair.

As the lead actor of Love Bites, Damon Salvatore was absolutely gorgeous, though sometimes Rose thought he knew it. He had beautiful pale skin that was set off by his raven hair, and piercing blue eyes that could light up the camera. And then there was his smile -he could charm his way out of god damn anything with just a flash of it. Not to mention his arms, bulging with thick cords of muscle and his hard, flat stomach. Combined with his ability to absolutely mesmerise his audience with his acting, it was to no-one's surprise that he was a fan favourite.

"I don't suppose you could tell me why you are suddenly sleeping past all five of your alarms?" Rose probed him, as she applied a layer of white camera makeup to his already flawless skin.

He grinned sheepishly, a slight blush creeping up his neck to his cheeks.

"Even if I could tell you, I wouldn't. You're the worst fucking gossip here."

She smacked him lightly across his defined jaw line with her powder brush. "Am not. You know Caroline is worse," she insisted, her tone slightly hurt.

Damon laughed in agreeance. The bubbly blonde receptionist was WAY worse. Which is why she, nor Rose, nor anyone else could find out his secret. He cursed his brain sometimes, and the way his thoughts constantly plagued him. He would lie awake at night and think about every decision he had made during the day and he would tell himself they were right and fine, all the while ignoring the terrible nagging feeling that he was kidding himself. About his life. His choices. About everything.

"Thank god you're here, Rose. We need you on set, right now -makeup emergency" came the producer Pearl's voice, crashing through his thoughts into the small white room.

Damon spun his head around to meet his producer, standing in the doorway, her arms crossed and her expression hard. Her normally calm demeanour seemed off somehow, and Damon searched for answers in her dark eyes.

Rose exchanged a puzzled look with Damon and dropped her brush immediately, flitting off down the hallway to the set.

"Damon, we're moving your scene up, you're due on in half now." Pearl told him briskly before turning on her heel and following Rose down the hallway.

* * *

Elena's ears were filled with the clicking of her boss' heels on the smooth white tiles. She was mesmerised with the walls of the studio. Every metre of so was a picture of the cast, crew and writers smiling, laughing in outtakes, having drinks. Elena wondered if she would ever fit in with them.

As if she could read her mind Rebekah broke the silence bubbling between them. "The word on the street is, you don't like our lead actor very much." she said, as they walked down the clean, white hall together. Rebekah was one of those women that had the innate ability to walk gracefully in heels, and Elena felt a twinge of admiration towards her boss. Next to her she just felt awkward and spectacularly ordinary.

Elena's stomach dropped. Did everyone know?

"Wow you say one thing…" she began, not looking Rebekah in the eyes. The last thing she needed was for Rebekah to think she hated the cast before she had even started.

The other woman laughed shortly.

"Be careful what you say Elena, especially in this industry. Even if you don't mean something - people will hear what they want to hear."

Elena looked down at her shoes, regret plaguing her. "All I said was, I had read some things about him from magazines, and it wasn't all good. But it wasn't all bad, either."

The blonde smiled gently. "First rule of show-business. Don't judge a book by it's cover. Or in this case, don't judge a celebrity based on what a tabloid says about them. Pearl hired you for your talent anyway, not your opinion," she said bluntly.

Rebekah stopped and turned into the next room before Elena could choke out a reply.

"We're here. Welcome to your office."

Elena felt her jaw drop as she walked into the room. If she had been alone she would probably have been standing in a pool of her own drool because her office was so beautiful. Compared to her crappy Mystic Falls cable studio cubicle, anyway.

It was a white room with hard wooden floors, and was much bigger than she had expected. Her large mahogany desk sat in the middle of the room with a chair behind it that was surely fit for a CEO, not a measly writers assistant. She also had a small platform next to her desk on top of which sat a bar fridge and a coveted Nespresso coffee machine. The best part about it though, was the sunlight. It flooded the room, bouncing off the walls and filling the air with the kind of late Summer warmth that she craved.

"It's-"

"I know, it's a bit small. But it should do for now," Rebekah said with a shrug.

Elena was fighting back a smile that could have spread from ear and ear. _Be cool_, she said to herself. The last thing she needed was to have a fangirl freakout over her office to her new boss.

'Thank you, it's great,' she said simply, going to place her bag down behind her desk. She was wondering briefly if she was ever going to be able to salvage her reputation as a professional writer when she supposedly hated one of the cast members, when a noise in the hallway broke her reverie.

Rebekah's head snapped up at the two blurs that seemed to flitter past the open doorway. A second later, they were back and Elena recognised Pearl, the producer, with a very short red-headed girl in tow.

"Bex, thank god you're here. Katherine won't be able to shoot until later today, so we are moving Damon and Stefan's fight up to eleven thirty. Can you please go give him your script revisions right away."

Elena thought it was strange that Rebekah had a nickname. She didn't seem like the kind of woman who could ever be friendly enough with someone to warrant one. She also noticed the almost pained expression on Pearl's face and saw the producer try to hide it as her eyes moved over to her.

"Elena I am so happy to have you with us. We need all the help we can get right now," she admitted. 'I do hope you like your office."

Elena opened her mouth to gush that she loved her office, thank you very much, but Pearl was gone, with the red headed girl following her.

Rebekah turned to Elena quickly.

"Assistant duty starts now. Can you run back to my office and get my script revisions and then run them down to Damon in makeup?" she asked breathlessly.

Elena just gave her a quick nod. As anxious as meeting someone famous - particularly someone she had admitted to not liking - scared her, she wasn't about to fail the first task Rebekah gave her.

Elena looked up at Rebekah and noticed her furrowed brow "I wonder what is wrong with Katherine" the writer mused quietly.

She frowned as if resolved about something and turned on her heel. "I'm going to talk to Pearl, I will see you on set in fifteen minutes. Studio B." And she marched out, without giving Elena a second glance.

Elena stood bathed in sunlight in the middle of her office, her head spinning. She had to run to Rebekah's office, find the script revisions, find Damon's makeup room, meet Damon, and then find studio B in fifteen minutes?

She slipped off her heels - this was going to require stability.

* * *

Review please, I would love to know if anyone is curious about what is next.

Thank you to my amazing friend Kim ( ohmyninadobreva) for pulling me up on my shit punctuation.

Follow me on tumblr: elenasfire or twitter elenasfire for updates :)


	2. Car Crashes

Hey, all. I just want to clear a few things up about my world. Stefan and Damon are **not** related, they are friends and co-workers. Katherine and Elena do not look alike. I will not be talking about the character's names who they all play on their TV show 'Love Bites' because it will get way too confusing. The only person from Mystic Falls is Elena and her remaining family members (who we will most likely meet later!). Hope you enjoy the chapter.

* * *

_Chapter Two | Car crashes_

It's a strange thing, fame. It's as fickle as it is fortunate, as hungry as it is fulfilling. It gives as easily as it takes away. And every single aspect of it relies on circumstance.

Damon had been snatched up by the claws of fame at eighteen when he had stared as the teenage villain in a three part drama series. The series was met with critical acclaim, along with his performance and the rest was history. The next few years had been filled with press calls, modelling offers and a plethora of pilot auditions, along with agents all claiming that they would make him 'a star'. It wasn't until someone just as stubborn as himself came along that Damon even considered taking one of them on. Alaric Saltzman had been trouble from the moment Damon had signed a contract with him, probably even before that. Damon could distinctly remember Alaric telling him to 'shut the fuck up', in his interview for the agent position and Damon had decided then and there that Alaric was the guy for him. Alaric had organised the audition for Love Bites that made Damon Salvatore a household name, and he was now a good friend just as much as he was his agent.

But what the magazines don't tell you is about the dark feeling that comes with being in the spotlight. The glossy pages don't convey how damn lonely it is being the person with three million unnamed friends and thousands of faceless women screaming your name.

But Damon knew.

After Rose left hurriedly with Pearl, the uneasy feeling that had been plaguing him for the last few days continued as he ran a comb through his hair distractedly. Dammit Rose, she had always made this look so easy. His characters hairstyle was something of a signature look on the show, and he knew Pearl would flip if she saw his hair in it's current state of disarray.

_Knock, knock, knock_

_Thank god, _Damon thought jumping from this chair, _Rose is back to fix my goddamn hair._

"You don't have to knoc-" "Oh" was the word that escaped him as he stood to open the door. The almond shaped chocolate eyes that had found his we're definitely not Rose's. In fact, the five foot six twenty-something completely beddable goddess that was standing in his doorway right now, was assuredly _not_ Rose. For once, Damon couldn't think of anything to say and he stared unintelligably at the girl standing in his doorway.

"Elena," the girl choked out, breaking the sudden silence. She was clasping several sheets of paper in her hands and Damon noticed her grip around them tighten. He also became suddenly conscious of the fact that his shirt was for the most part unbuttoned, and from the look on her face she had noticed it too.

"Damon. Salvatore," he replied putting an arm up in the doorway casually, allowing his shirt to fall loosely around his muscular chest.

"I know who you are" she blurted, colour coming to her cheeks. "I came to give you these. Your script revisions," she held out the papers. The words tumbled fast from her lips, and Damon got the distinct impression that she was eager to make a run for it.

Damon eyed the wad of paper carefully. "Thank you…Elena" he said, brushing his fingers against hers as she handed them over. He liked the way her name sounded on his lips and he enunciated it carefully, holding onto the letters as they rolled off his tongue.

"Okay, bye" she spun around, looking as if she wanted to leave as quickly as humanly possible. But Damon had other plans.

'Why were you looking at my hair?" Damon called after her, with a smirk. She turned to face him, barely three steps away. He crossed his arms now and leaned against the hard, wooden door frame. He knew the answer, but he wanted this girl who was all nerves and self deprecation, to say it.

Elena blushed and averted her gaze downwards. "Oh sorry, it's just, did you… I mean have you…. I mean." She took a deep breath, glancing up at his hair again "It looks terrible to be _quite honest_." She confessed with a small smile.

Completely unabashed, Damon whirled around to pick up some hair product that was on the bench where Rose has been doing his makeup. It was the one he had been trying to use before but to no avail. But since he had to appear on camera in about fifteen minutes, desperate times called for the most desperate of measures.

"Do you mind?" he held the product out to her, hoping to god she didn't have some weird hair phobia.

She stared at him in shock for a moment before holding out her hand obediently, and Damon squeezed a small amount of product into her hand. _Don't think sexy thoughts, don't think sexy thoughts, _he scolded himself. This was going to be weird enough without him making a small tent in the front of his pants.

She stepped closer to him and ran her fingers through his hair slowly, working the product through gently. _Dear lord_, he thought. Either she was really good at this, or Damon never paid enough attention to when Rose did it, because damn. The fact that she was standing less than a hand's distance away from his face didn't help either, and he noticed three or four freckles across her olive skin, the soft curling of her lashes and felt her warm breath against his neck.

Damon searched for words desperately in his scrambled mind. "You must be new here," he said suddenly.

"Why do you say that?" Elena breathed as she brushed a small piece of hair from his forehead. Damon felt his stomach tighten at her touch -this surely had to be the stuff hard-core porn was made of.

"You said 'to be quite honest'" he repeated her words to her. "No-one says 'to be quite honest' around here. Frankly, because no-one is honest. Not 'quite'. Not at all," he explained quietly.

She looked up at him curiously and Damon thought he could feel the naivety radiating off of her. She was definitely new and most likely from out of town . No-one had looked at him like that since Caroline had started working there last year.

"Well, I always think it's better to know the truth than delude yourself with a lie," she replied matter-of-factly. Her voice had grown stronger now, and Damon found himself lost in the sound of it. Even if they were just words, for a split second he found himself believing her. Maybe he -maybe all of them- were better off with the truth.

It was only when Damon felt the warmth around his body leave that he realised she had finished with his hair, and was stepping backwards. In the strangest way, he felt the distance between them as if it were miles.

"You may have a future as a hair stylist" he joked, glancing in the mirror next behind them.

She smiled at him, seeming somewhat relaxed for the first time. "Thanks. If I fail terribly at the whole writing thing, I'll keep that in mind," she replied, turning to leave. Damon begun to do the buttons of his shirt up, readying himself to appear on camera. His dark hair was perfectly styled and for the first time, he had forgotten the thing that had been playing on his mind for most of the week.

Elena stopped in the doorway, whirling to face him again."Oh, hey. This might be completely unprofessional or whatever, but do you know how to get to studio B?" her voice was as calm the sea after the roughest of storms, and her eyes were lit up with excitement. Definitely her first day.

Damon smiled.

"Sure do" he said as she raised an eyebrow at him. "With me"

* * *

Since working at her local station for the past few years, Elena had been on television sets before, many times. But there was something about walking right into the kitchen one of your favourite television shows that had a certain kind of 'dream-come-true' ring to it. Her mind was still whirling from her meeting with Damon, (what the hell WAS that?) and she forced herself to focus on the task at hand, she was here to write, after all, not to play groupie. She had found Rebekah in approximately 0.35 seconds and had left Damon's side immediately, lest she get caught up in another hair fondling moment.

She had been introduced to a few other cast members, including Matt Donovan, April Young and Tyler Lockwood. She had also met Stefan, and although his character was all brooding and tortured on the show, he was a true gentleman in real life. He had wasted no time getting to know her, asking her where she was from, what she did and even offering to show her where the best places to eat in LA were. Elena was almost positive he was gay, so while there was no attraction on either end, it was good to make a friend. Especially a friend that didn't make her wish the ground would swallow her whole.

She took up a seat to the left of the studio among the other writers. They didn't always come to watch the scenes, but during the first couple of weeks of filming it was good to see how the writing played out, or so Rebekah told her. Elena's eyes followed Damon across the space and she noticed he seemed a little more anxious now then when he had been with her earlier. She understood though, it couldn't have been easy to play dress up when everyone was counting on you. Although the ratings had been good last year, this year they we're trying to make them great, and that meant more pressure on the actors.

But watching Damon and Stefan act together was mesmerising. Although they played enemies on the show, their bond in real life was like that of brothers. After a only a year working together, they knew each other so well they could read each other's eyes, taking the slightest cues from their facial expressions. She swallowed as she watched Damon's arm muscles tighten as his character 'punched' Stefan in anger, fire burning behind his blue eyes.

Lunch came at just the right time, at Elena chatted with some writers quietly as she ate from the craft services table provided by the studio. And again, she watched Damon. He was so impossibly beautiful she couldn't not. The camera's didn't even seem to do him justice.

"So you met, Damon" came Rebekah's voice, floating next to her. It wasn't a question.

Elena grimaced a little, pulling her eyes away from where he was talking animatedly to Stefan now. Was it that obvious? "Yeah, you could say that" she laughed.

Rebekah sat down next to her, rolling her eyes. "Whatever shit he pulled, don't worry about it. He plays the same little game on everyone," she warned, taking a bite into her miniature sandwich.

Elena was just wondering if Damon got everyone to rub product through his perfect mop of dark hair when a yelling broke through the studio space, causing everyone eating lunch to sit up in alarm.

"You can't tell me what to do Pearl!" came the voice, rippling through the silence like a heavy stone thrown into the calmest of rock pools. It was coming from a small room right next to the recording space that Elena had just found out the actors used to perform emergency costume changes.

"Katherine, I am not saying this as your boss, I am saying it as your friend. Please" Pearl's voice replied, and Elena couldn't miss the note of desperation in it. She had always seen Pearl as quite a hard women, and hearing her voice crack made Elena uneasy. The cast and crew we're looking around at each other now, and Elena noticed Damon's face turn a particularly nasty shade of white from across the room.

"I don't need your help. I don't need anyone's help actually. As my FRIEND Pearl, mind your own damn business" Katherine shot back violently. There was a silence for a few seconds and then-

"It is MY business when you can't be filmed today because of-"

A crashing broke through the noise and Katherine Pierce herself came storming through the set, apparently fed up with the conversation. Elena realised she hadn't seen her at all yet, and it soon became apparent that the Katherine she was seeing now, was far different to the vivacious, seductive character she was so used to seeing on her television screen. Even with olive skin she was extremely pale and her dark hair was hanging limp around her face. She was thin as well, surely five or six pounds thinner than last season, and her clothes hung loosely around her chest and hips. But most prominent of all was the emptiness that filled her eyes and the dark shadows that framed them. Elena also noticed a bruise on her left cheek that had been covered well by makeup, but not entirely.

Katherine didn't shoot a second glance to any of them and continued furiously through studio B to the exit. Only Stefan and Damon moved after her, following their cast mate with looks of genuine concern on their faces.

"Katherine, wait…" came Stefan's voice as they ran off the set.

Next to Elena, Rebekah raised her eyebrows in concern, standing up quickly. "I should go speak to Pearl", she sighed. "I don't think they will be filming much after lunch, do you want to meet me in the writers room around three?"

Elena swallowed and nodded, trying to push out the bad feeling that had engulfed the studio.

She walked slowly back to her office, dragging her feet slightly along the lush green carpet. If she had learned anything today, she decided it was never to wear heels on your first day. She smiled to herself slightly. _Really, brain? After everything that's happened, THAT is the knowledge you're taking away from today?_

She shook her head, willing the images of Damon's messy hair, of Katherine's bruised cheek, of Rebekah's sad face, of Stefan's kind smile, forcing it all to leave her. How foolish she had been to think that the drama stopped just because the cameras were off. She spent the next two hours in her office pouring over script revisions. She had been given the task of cutting out certain phrases that Rebekah felt were unnecessary for flow of dialogue, and though it made her head hurt, she enjoyed the monotony of the task. It wasn't fun, or exciting or glamorous, but it was her. Grunt work and results.

At 2:45, unable to shake the vision of Damon's pale, worried face from her thoughts, she packed up her notebook and pen, put her heels back on and headed to his office. According to what he told her on their way to the studio this morning, his office was on the way to the writers room anyway, so she thought she might as well poke her head in and check if he was okay. Stefan had told her that they were shooting late tonight, so Elena knew everyone was just laying low in their respective rooms until the night shoot started. A vision of Damon passed out on a leather couch in his office flooded her mind, and she suppressed a giggle as she walked down the hall.

She tried to ignore the steadily increasing beat of her heart as she passed through the white hallways once more. She couldn't believe she had been so quick to judge Damon. He wasn't terrible or troublemaking or a 'bad boy', at all. He was just an actor. A normal guy trying to make it through the day, like every other person on this planet. And sure, maybe she didn't know him as well as she thought, maybe it was only her first day, but she saw something in Damon. Something real.

After what seemed like a age, she reached the stark white door of his office on the third floor and stood in front of it nervously. She was just going to say hi, check if everything was okay, and leave, she told herself. Definitely no 'hanging out' or flirting of any kind, she was far too professional for that. Still, she pulled her long dark hair over her shoulders, pinched her cheeks and stood firmly on both feet in front of the door, ignoring the ragged breaths that were escaping her chest.

_Breathe, Elena, _she told herself firmly before turning the silver handle of Damon's room.

People always say that a car crash is hard to look away from, no matter how hard you try. Sure, it's awful and it's bloody, bits of debris is everywhere, people are screaming - it's a damn wreck. But for some ridiculous reason you can't seem to tear your gaze from the mess you are beholding. Elena had never understood that phrase so well until this moment.

Apparently oblivious to the door to his room even opening, Damon was sitting half naked on a large leather office chair, his hair unkempt and the script revisions she had brought to him earlier, strewn over the floor. But he wasn't alone. Perched on top of him with her spindly legs wrapped tightly around his waist was none other than Miss Katherine Pierce, who also appeared to be missing the top half of her clothing, Elena felt the air catch in her lungs as she watched Damon's hands wrap tightly around her waist and his soft, pink lips lay a trail of kisses down Katherine's neck to her shoulder.

Looking up over Katherine's shoulder for a split second, Damon untangled himself from the mass of limbs long enough to meet Elena's shocked brown eyes with his piercing blue ones. He blinked twice to register her presence and pulled himself back from Katherine slightly with his lips still parted.

"Elena?" he breathed her name, the syllables ringing in the air.

But she was gone before the word left his lips, the heavy door slamming behind her.

* * *

AN: Thanks so much for reading. I wanted Damon and Elena to have a HOT first meeting, because that is as good as it's going to get for a while. I am warning you now, this is slooooooow burn to Delena, so if you are expecting sex in the next chapter, um, you will be severely disappointed. Elena was starting to have a bit of a crush of Damon, (as is the power of Damon Salvatore), but I think that may be shot to hell a little now, especially because of a few things we will find out about Katherine next chapter ;)

Thank you to everyone that followed, favourited, reviewed, tweeted me and just loved this idea as much as I do, I am super excited for where this story is going so please stick with me :) Updating soon! If you want to get in touch in the meantime, send me a message on here or elenasfire on Twitter or the same on Tumblr.

Reviews keep me going ;)


	3. Secrets

Hi guys, this is kind of an eventful chapter and it is all in Elena's POV. We will be back to Damon's POV next chapter, but there was kind of a lot of plot to cover this chapter, so it needed to be from Elena's perspective.

On another note, I am loving your reviews and thoughts so far. The fact that I have like 77 alerts on two chapters of my story is absolutely mind blowing. I am on a uni break, but I am working full time now so you will have to bear with me - I am trying to write as fast as I can. Thank you to my beautiful beta for kicking my ass with my punctuation as usual.

Also note that this chapter is set three days later than the last chapter, which was on a Monday. This is now the Thursday of the same week. Also, trigger warning for abuse related issues/discussion.

* * *

_Chapter 3 | Secrets _

"There are two types of secrets; the ones we keep from others and the ones we keep from ourselves."

"Elena, are you going to work today?" came a voice as smooth as honey. Elena hid under the warmth of her bed covers, shielding her face from the stream of light peering through her curtains. It was going to be a beautiful day, but Elena couldn't bring herself to get out of bed to join the world. In fact, if it wasn't her dream job, she would have seriously considered never going back there again.

And all because of him.

She cringed at the thought of Katherine's body draped over Damon's and his crystal eyes meeting hers, his jet black hair in disarray. But even worse than that was the bruise on Katherine's cheek. If Damon was her boyfriend, did that mean he was the cause of her torment? She would never have thought him capable of such a thing, but if the last couple of days had taught her anything, it was that appearances were deceiving, especially when you had to rely to heavily on them.

"Yeah" she called back reluctantly to her questioning housemate. She had told Bonnie everything last night -after much persuasion- and acting like a zombie for the last two days. The girls hadn't known each other for long, but already Elena was beginning to feel at home living with her - it was refreshing to live with someone that approached life so casually. As a dancer, Bonnie rolled out of bed around noon before attending a handful of auditions, going to hours of classes and then going out with her friends. Elena envied her life in some ways and her carefree attitude.

"So, are you seeing him today?" Bonnie asked as Elena moseyed into the kitchen for breakfast wearing her Winnie-the-Pooh PJ's. Elena knew Bonnie had formed her own opinion of Damon based on everything she had told her, but she was yet to share it with her. Elena poured some cereal into a bowl; she was going to need some stamina today.

"Well…they haven't needed us on set for the last couple of days so I have just been in the writers' room with Rebekah, sort of avoiding him. But today they are filming a big scene and they need us there on set for script adjustments," she grimaced, pouring milk into the bowl.

"And you still haven't told anyone?" Bonnie asked, leaning against the fridge with her arms crossed.

"I don't know, Bon. I don't know what I should do. If Damon is hitting her, don't I have a responsibility to do something about it?"

"Doesn't Katherine, though? Being that it is her life?" Bonnie mused. "Why do you have to be the one to save her from him?"

Elena shivered a little at the words 'from him'. None of this made sense. She would never have picked Damon as someone that would hit his partner, and she would never have assumed Katherine Pierce would be a victim. Not to mention the fact that based on what Elena saw, Katherine was still very much willing to be with Damon and continue their relationship.

Normally Elena wouldn't ever have thought of telling anyone something so personal, but the abuse issue was at the forefront of her mind. And was she a bad person if she knew and didn't try and do something about it? What if Katherine was just too scared to leave?

She took a mouthful of cereal and noticed Bonnie looking at her thoughtfully. "Do you think it's harder 'cause you kind of, you know, like the guy?" she asked.

Elena choked on her cereal and shook her head. "Whatever this is with us, I don't like him. I'm just… disappointed because I went in with this image of him and he proved me exactly right."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow sceptically but just nodded once. "So what are you going to do?"

Elena didn't know what she was going to do. Either she abandoned her principles and didn't tell anyone, or she told someone and possibly ruined a career and a life. Either way she lost. She sighed and walked over to the sink where she tipped the remainder of her out. She turned to face Bonnie and shot her an apathetic look, before walking back over in the direction of her bedroom.

"I'm going to go to work."

* * *

Elena spent the morning going through the scripts for the next two episodes and running errands for Rebekah. While picking up her boss' dry cleaning wasn't the most beneficial task as far as advancing her career, she was thankful for the distraction, and for the fresh air. Though she was loving her job so far, she hadn't gotten the chance to see much of LA yet, and she was eagerly awaiting the weekend for the chance to explore. Bonnie had already promised to take her out to LaX soon, one of the hottest clubs on the scene.

But for now, it was Thursday and Thursday meant work.

After two hours of script work, Elena obediently followed Rebekah into Studio B, where Stefan was filming a scene with Lexi, an actress that had an occasional role on the show. Damon was there, as she knew he would be, and as the cameras rolled she couldn't help but notice him standing alone, his silhouette bathed in darkness. He was leaning against one of the pillars that ran from floor to ceiling, and although she couldn't make out his eyes, she knew he was staring at the scene unfolding in front of them. Elena couldn't help but wonder what he would look like if he came out of the darkness and stood in the light, and she shook the image from her mind quickly.

Stefan was an amazing actor and Elena had gotten a lot closer to him over the last couple of days. He had taken to bringing her coffee in her office on his way past, something she appreciated immensely since she rarely got time to leave her desk. She had established pretty quickly that he wasn't gay, like she had originally thought, and he had told her all about his ex-girlfriend and how she had broken his heart recently.

He was the exact opposite to Damon, something she had also picked up on pretty quickly. Where Damon was all brooding and tortured and darkness, Stefan was open and light and free. Where Damon's stare made her want to disappear behind the stage curtains, Stefan's made her want to run over into the brightest of lights. He was a good guy and a good friend. Plus, he worked so well with Damon; there was no doubt in her mind that the success of the show was down to the two of them.

She glanced back over to where Damon had been standing, and noticed with a start that the pillar he was leaning against was empty.

"Elena can I talk to you?" came Damon's voice from behind her, eliminating any hope she might have had of avoiding him today. She should have known. Her first thought was to say no, but curiosity burned deep within her and she just nodded. Swallowing thickly, she followed him into the small room beside the set. Ironically, it was the very same room that Elena had seen Katherine burst out of just three days earlier.

He stood facing her, and Elena was thankful for the half a metre of distance he kept between them. He was paler than last time she had seen him, and aside from the dark shadows under his eyes his beautiful white skin was almost translucent. "You've been avoiding me," he said bluntly. It wasn't a question, and she noticed anger dancing behind his crystal eyes. Now that he wasn't shrouded in darkness she couldn't help thinking his wardrobe was amazing today. He was wearing dark blue jeans and a light grey shirt that clung slightly to the muscles in his arms.

"No, I've been working, Damon." It wasn't a lie. And besides, why should he care if she was avoiding him? She had known the guy for approximately two minutes in the first place.

Damon rolled his eyes. "You don't have a future in acting, that's for sure," he quipped. "Now stop lying and tell me why."

She let out a hollow laugh, "What do you want me to say, Damon?"

He bit his lip, and Elena cursed the butterflies that erupted in her stomach. "Nothing. That's the thing, Elena. I want you to say _nothing_ about what you saw..." he swallowed, "…nothing about me and Katherine. To anyone."

"And why would I do that? Why would I lie for you?" she scoffed. She could feel anger building behind her words and she swallowed the sudden urge to turn on her heel and run from him. She didn't want to be here, having this conversation with him. In fact, if her thoughts about him were true, she didn't want to be anywhere having _any_ conversation with him.

He shook his head exasperatedly and sighed. "Because if you don't keep it a secret, there will be consequences. For all of us." The last words came out soft, almost sad. Was he pleading with her?

Elena didn't drop his gaze though, and she felt a fire burning through her veins. She had to ask now. She had to know. "Just tell me one thing Damon… how did she get the bruise?"

Shock passed across his face for the briefest of milliseconds and he just stared at her. Whatever he had been expecting her to ask, it hadn't been that, and she saw him screw up his fists tightly in frustration. She braced for reaction but he just shook his head in despair.

"I see you've already formed your own opinion, so why bother telling you?" he muttered darkly.

He turned his back on her and walked out of the room, leaving Elena more confused than ever.

* * *

Elena had eaten lunch alone since the first day when they had had catering on set. If they weren't filming, the writers were free to do whatever they wanted for lunch and Elena used the opportunity to either read, or work on some scrips of her own for future pilots she might consider pitching to the station. That was her goal, after all. But Thursday was different. After sitting alone in the building's cafe for approximately three seconds, she had barely bitten into her sandwich before she was accosted by none other than the bubbly blonde receptionist. Elena didn't have many female friends. It wasn't because she didn't want them, but she didn't have many friends in general. Her growing relationship with Bonnie was the closest she had come to having a real friendship in years, so she was tentative when the bustling blonde struck up a conversation out of nowhere.

"I can sit here, right?" she asked as she threw her bag down. Elena smiled at her, as if to say 'Yes'. She got the feeling Caroline Forbes didn't get turned down often.

Stefan had told her all about the receptionist earlier this week. Caroline had fluked her way into an interview at the station with no previous experience or any real skills, but had landed the job purely based on her people skills. She was a major gossip, but also 'a real sweetheart', according to him.

"So what are you wearing to the Start of Season party?" Caroline asked, straight to business as she popped the plastic lid off her 9-carb salad.

Elena blanched. Rebekah had told her about the party on Monday, but she had not given it a second thought since. She couldn't think of anything worse than a night of hiding Damon and Katherine's secret while they were going at it in the bathrooms. Besides, dressing up meant heels, and Elena had thrown out her cheap back pair as soon as she had gotten home from her first day of work.

"I don't really have anything," she admitted sheepishly. She had to say, Caroline intimidated her a little with her straightforward attitude and fabulous hair.

Caroline raised her eyebrows. "Well, you better dress up; I heard that Klaus Mikaelson will be there," she said, piling lettuce onto her fork. Elena just stared at her blankly as the café bustled around them. Was that the incorrect 'your' on the Specials board?

"I have no idea who that is," she said with a small smile.

Caroline laughed, but not unkindly. "Oh Elena. He's only the CEO of the station. Not to mention he owns like five media companies and is mega rich and successful. And hot; god, he is like the entire package," she said lustfully. "He's Rebekah's brother, as well."

"Too bad Katherine nabbed him years ago," Caroline shrugged. At her words Elena stopped looking at the menu and fixed her eyes on Caroline's blue orbs. She couldn't have possibly heard what she just thought she had.

"Katherine what?"

"You are too precious, Elena. Katherine is married to Klaus. Didn't you wonder how she got this job? It's not like she is a good actress or anyth-". But Elena wasn't listening. If Katherine was married, that meant that she and Damon weren't just innocently hanging out; they were having an affair.

But it also meant that maybe Damon wasn't the cause of her bruise after all, and she had made a major mistake in her judgement of him. Either way, curiosity had welled up inside her and she had to know.

After lunch, the crew resumed filming a scene in which two of the show's female characters were discussing Damon's character. Although he didn't have to be there, he had come along again for observation's sake and for once Elena was grateful. Her desire to find out what was going on had turned into full blown obsession in the last twenty-five minutes and upon passing him, she pulled on his forearm and dragged him into the darkness of the set. One or two of the extras gave them curious glances, but otherwise no-one else noticed. Damon also seemed to be in a better mood than this morning.

"Elena, if you wanted to get me alone all you had to do was a-"

"Katherine is married to Klaus Mikaelson; are you insane?" she shot at him. She wasn't in the mood to engage in witty banter with him.

Damon opened his mouth to retort but closed it almost immediately. He had no argument here and he knew it.

"He is my boss' brother, not to mention the owner of the biggest fucking media conglomerate in the country. If he found out, you would never work in this industry again, Damon," she continued.

He shook his head in disbelief. "So now you give a shit if I have a job?" he spat back finally, frown lines deepening in his beautiful face.

Elena just sighed. She should feel relieved that Damon wasn't the one abusing Katherine, but instead she felt scared. Like a tight knot had formed in her chest and she was powerless to undo it. She hated secrets, and she hated lying, and now she was at the centre of something huge that seemed to be eating her from the inside out.

She stepped closer to him, closing some of the distance between them. "That speech on honesty you gave me in your dressing room, was that all just for show, Damon?" her voice was soft now, resigned.

Damon seemed just as lost. "Do you think I want this, Elena?" he asked her, anger rippling through his voice. He glanced quickly over at the set, careful that no one was listening. "In an ideal world, Katherine wouldn't be with that psychopath… she would be with me," he moved closer to Elena and put his finger under her chin, forcing her almond eyes to meet his. She felt her heart contract and she cursed herself silently.

"But we don't always get what we want, do we?" his eyes were shining and he let his hands fall limply to his side

Elena felt her chest burn at his words in the same way it had the night she had seen him and Katherine together and she swallowed the feeling quickly. Now wasn't the time for whatever unusual attraction her body may have towards him.

_No_, she thought, _we don't. _

The air had begun to push in on them and Elena felt her head spin. She was confined to Damon, and he to her. She turned around and marched out of the studio; she had to be the one to walk away this time.

* * *

Elena had stopped going home at 5pm after the first two days of work. Her priority was the script and the story and amidst all the drama she was still trying to remain professional in front of Rebekah. As she sat in her office that night, she tried to think of how it had all gone so badly. She was now keeping the secret that Katherine was being abused by her husband, who also happened to be her boss' brother, and the owner of the station. Not to mention the fact that Damon seemed to be hopelessly in love with Katherine, and whatever feelings she thought she might have had for him were now null and void.

She ran her fingers through her chestnut hair and breathed out slowly.

"You're here late," came a soft voice from her doorway. She hadn't even heard the door open but that voice, polite as always, rang through her thoughts.

She looked up. "Oh, hey, Stefan. Come in. Did you forget your copy of tomorrow's script?"

"No, though that would be typical of me," he said, self-deprecating as always. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something," he crossed his arms, and Elena immediately thought of someone shielding themselves.

Stefan was all hair, teeth, and muscles, and Elena knew any woman in her right mind would find him absolutely beautiful. It wasn't that she didn't find him attractive, but that she had never thought of him that way, or in any way really. Her mind clicking into overtime as she thought of what could possibly be so important that he had to tell her at 6:30 on a Thursday night. It had been an extremely long day and her thoughts were firmly set on bed and season three of The OC.

"It's about the Start of Season launch party…"

Elena swallowed. She could see where this was going and her thoughts were almost immediately confirmed. "I was wondering if... I mean, do you want to go with me?" he blurted out. He grinned sheepishly at her shocked expression.

"Oh," was all she could choke out. "Like a date?" Elena hadn't been on many dates her life, but she knew that the first ingredient to a successful date was actually _wanting_ to be there. She liked Stefan, she liked him a lot actually, but she didn't feel drawn to him she couldn't think of any reason why she shouldn't get to know her co-workers a little better. Well, besides one dark haired, blue eyed reason that she was trying to drown out.

Stefan raised his eyebrows. "Well, it doesn't have to be. I mean, we can go as friends?"

Friends. Elena liked the sound of that. "Okay, sure. It's Saturday night, right?" she recalled her conversation with Caroline earlier. Saturday night meant she had exactly 48 hours to obtain a dress.

Stefan nodded. "I'll see you there? In the spirit of friendship, I mean, I wouldn't want to pick you up or anything," he joked lightly.

Elena smiled in spite of herself. "I think friends pick each other up too, Stefan."

He smiled and it lit up his face. "Okay, 6 o'clock," he said, looking adorable behind his blush.

"Great; see you then." He made a deliberate but silent 'yes' motion with his fists and walked out, leaving Elena wondering how she ever could have thought the drama was just going to be on-screen.

* * *

AN: Hi hi hi, sorry for the like two week delay in updating, I have started a new job which is always fun. If you have gotten to this authors note, it means you didn't close the tab as soon as Stefan walked into Elena's office so thank you for that. There will be a little SE but it's pretty one-sided to be honest, Elena is more wrapped up in everything that is going on with Damon, so Stefan is just a bit of a distraction for now. So next chapter will be the Start of Season launch party, which I have already written like half of so the chapter shouldn't be too far away. Follow me on twitter for updates! elenasfire ;)


	4. Launch

Hi guys! Thank you so much for your patience with this update, I have started working full-time (43 hours a week! yowza!) and blah blah blah, all the usual excuses. If you are still reading this story then I adore you. This chapter was originally like nearly 8000 words, and then I decided to cut it down to around 4200, so the other half will be coming soon!

For anyone wondering about the line of authority on the TV station, Klaus is the CEO of the station but has no say in the show itself, he is more of a silent entity. Pearl is the executive producer, and Rebekah is the lead writer (Elena is her assistant). Damon, Stefan, Katherine and various other characters are actors in the show. Hope that clears it up a little!

Also some people have been saying they are guessing I don't like Klaus/ship Klaroline or whatever because of my characterisation of him, but that really isn't true. I see the potential in KC and although I don't ship it/don't have it planned for my story, it doesn't mean I don't like them. I simply chose Klaus to characterise as Katherine's husband/abuser because in my mind his character is the most likely to lash out in anger (which despite his good qualities, he often does.)

Enough ranting for now. Enjoy the chapter :)

* * *

_Have you no idea that you're in deep?_

_I dreamt about you nearly every night this week,_

_How many secrets can you keep?_

Since before she could remember, Elena had been obsessed with television shows. Her high school years had been consumed with her screaming at her TV screen and crying when her favourite characters broke up. She had realised she wanted to work in television for the first time when she spent a week in the darkness of her room after one half of her favourite couple died. She decided then and there that she wanted to write something that made someone care as much as that - something so powerful it could reduce someone to tears.

She had spent the better part of her Friday night watching re-runs of One Tree Hill, one of her favourite shows (god, Lucas was hot in season five). But despite the eye-candy, her busy working week carried her off to sleep quickly, and she was woken up only by Bonnie crashing through the door at 3am. One look at the TV screen told her she was now watching MMA fighting - not her first choice of programming. She found it so inhumane that a person could be held down for so long that they had no choice but to tap out. For that person, it was either be humiliated and lose, or choose to suffer further. Either way they lost.

"You're watching this crap?" Bonnie wrinkled her nose at the TV screen, throwing her keys on the kitchen bench.

Elena rubbed her eyes and sat up. "That would be a no," she yawned.

When Elena had left the office earlier that night, she felt a considerable weight lifting off her shoulders - she had made it. She had gotten though the first week of her new job, and had come out practically unscathed. Sure, there was the secret of Damon and Katherine's affair, not to mention Stefan asking her out despite her purely platonic feelings for him - but she had come out of her first working week alive, nonetheless.

She had been told today by Pearl that her script writing was going really well and Rebekah even mentioned giving her an important writing task in the near future, so it was with a happy heart that she had thrown her bag down on the ageing wooden chair in her living room and settled down to some Chad Michael Murray in his younger days.

"Bon?"

Bonnie had already gone into her room; she turned her blaring music down slightly by way of reply.

"Will you come shopping with me tomorrow? I have nothing to wear to this office thing," she grumbled. Elena knew Bonnie wasn't really into shopping, but she also knew if she whined enough, her housemate would cave helplessly. It was approximately T minus 16 hours until the Start of Season launch party, and as of the current moment, Elena would be turning up butt-naked.

Bonnie stuck her head out of her bedroom door and raised one dark eyebrow at Elena.

"This wouldn't be a dress to impress Damon, now, would it?" She had turned the music all the way down and had perched herself on one of the bar stools behind Elena.

Elena cursed her blushing skin. "Of course not. I told you that is never, EVER happening, Bonnie. He is so far out of my league, we aren't even playing the same game." "Besides, I am going with someone else," she continued briskly.

Bonnie swept her chocolate brown hair over her bare shoulder and shot Elena a meaningful look that clearly said she wasn't buying it.

Elena just raised her eyebrows in response and watched her as she marched back into her room, shooting her one last wearied look.

"Wait, so what time are we going shopping?" she yelled at the closed door.

* * *

Saturday night came before anyone knew it. Pearl's assistant Mikah had spent the day instructing the catering on exactly how the ballroom was to be set up for evening. It was to be held at The Grayson Centre, one of the most popular places for functions in LA, and many reputable members of the network and other television networks would to be attending. As the flagship show of the network, it was more than just a start of season launch party, but rather a veritable plethora of industry talent. Not to mention a perfect platform to meet high-up exec's and people they would otherwise not get a chance to meet.

Damon had spent the day following around a very busy Katherine who had insisted on getting every beauty treatment in the known universe before the party. After six hours of manicures, foils, face masks and foot massages, she had rushed home to Klaus in the late afternoon, leaving Damon bitter and alone. While he was fully aware it was no-one's fault but his own that he had been a personal taxi for the day, a little appreciation wouldn't have gone astray.

"God, I need a drink," he muttered to himself as he swept his piercing blue eyes around the ballroom. Mikah and her team had done an amazing job setting everything up, and he had to admit the venue was perfect. The glittering light from the grand chandeliers lit up the room beautifully, accentuating the classy decor and sparkling patrons. Covering the walls were photos of the cast with thousands of fans: at conventions, at signings, at events, even just hanging out. He couldn't help but notice the huge smiles on his and Katherine's faces as they sat with Stefan in between them, happier than ever. The picture that had caught his eye had been taken over a year ago, during their first press tour. Katherine hadn't married Klaus yet. Damon hadn't fallen in love with her yet.

He shook the memory out of his head as the large silk banner above the door caught his eye.

"Congratulations on Season 2!" it read, fluttering above them all. He grimaced. _Congratu-fucking-lations._

A blonde lady in a red dress flushed as his gaze met hers and Damon made a mental note to find her later if this night went the way it seemed to be headed. If he wasn't the star of the show, he wouldn't have turned up at all, preferring to resume the passed out position he had adopted for most of the afternoon. Anything was better watching pretentious people float around pretending to like each other. He was just cursing himself for bothering to turn up early when the queen of pretension herself- Katherine- caught his eye. She was hanging off Klaus' right arm, smiling jovially and rubbing her husband's bicep occasionally like everything was fucking fine and dandy in the world.

The whole situation was making him resentful and he knew it. A year ago he was happier than he had ever been, his social life was thriving, he had just gotten a job at a great new TV show and was actually starting to be recognised for his acting, something he had been trying to do for ten years to no avail. In the past six months he had watched everyone he had known from his old life step away from him and he had thrown himself into his work as a result. Katherine's problems had become his problems when he fell for her and before he knew it, the darkness of her life had engulfed him.

He fiddled with the cufflinks of his suit smiling at Pearl and Rebekah as they passed him in deep conversation. He noticed Katherine was now telling a gentleman a story as Klaus nodded approvingly, her smile lighting up her usually shadowed face. He tried to think of the last time he had seen her genuinely smile…

"How you doing, man?" came a voice to his right. Damon dragged himself out of the depths of his mind and glanced beside him to see Stefan leaning against the bar next to him. He nodded slightly in reply. Damon loved Stefan like a brother, but he didn't feel like banter right now.

Raising his eyebrows and following Damon's line of sight, Stefan let out a low whistle. "How does she do it?" Stefan gestured towards Katherine and Klaus, distaste in his voice. "How does she pretend to be happy with him?"

Damon spun around so he couldn't see them. "I think the better question is 'why'?" he murmured.

Stefan nodded in agreement. "You should talk to her, man. She listens to you."

Damon let out a short laugh that was devoid of any real humour. Katherine had stopped listening to him long ago. The fact that she was being treated like a decoration on Klaus' arm right now was proof of that. "Don't you think I've tried? The only thing standing between his face and my closed fist is her right now."

"And me," Stefan added. "No way am I letting you punch your way out of this job."

Damon's heart swelled with appreciation for his friend. "Thanks, brother."

Damon thought that Stefan probably knew about his affair with Katherine. The three of them spent twelve hour days together on set and although they thought they were being subtle, Damon gathered they probably weren't. But despite the occasional meaningful gaze, Stefan had never mentioned it to him. Damon had never had a brother in real life but over the last few months he had begun to feel closer to Stefan than ever. In the whirlwind of fame that had sideswiped them, Stefan was one of the only real things around him - besides Katherine, and even that was becoming dubious. But through all of his terrible ideas, Stefan was there, smiling and saying, "You okay, bro?" If that wasn't real brotherhood then Damon didn't want a real brother.

After a sobering pause Damon looked back at Stefan and noticed he wasn't paying attention anymore; rather, he was transfixed at something across the room. He was fiddling with the cufflinks on his suit distractedly and as Damon looked at him he held up a fork to check his reflection.

"How do I look?"

Damon raised a dark eyebrow "Seriously?"

Stefan spun his head back around to the door, ignoring Damon's remark. "My date's here," he gushed, practically flying to the doorway away from where Damon was left dumbfounded.

He watched Stefan cross the colossal room with impressive speed and smiled to himself. It must be some girl to have him all riled up. Damon was just thinking 'Good for him' as a stunning olive-skinned brunette - an almond-eyed brunette - walked in the door and embraced Stefan warmly. She was the kind of beautiful that turned heads, and in this industry, in this room full of beautiful people, that was saying something. She was the kind of beautiful that made men question their partners and women question their sexuality. How had he not seen that she was this kind of beautiful? But there was no doubting it now; Elena Gilbert was a knock-out.

As she walked further into the room, Damon saw she was wearing a magenta coloured dress that hugged her chest and hips perfectly and accentuated features Damon had definitely not seen in the office. Her chocolate hair was tied in a knot at the nape of her neck but one or two curls had escaped, framing her face perfectly.

But most of all, Damon noticed her smile: two rows of perfect teeth, beaming at Stefan, her eyes lighting up in excitement as she gazed around. The lights of the room made their normal dark brown hue turn a fantastic molten and he couldn't help scold himself for not noticing her in this way before. True, he had only known her week, but he was usually so good at this kind of thing.

He spent the next hour alone, watching Katherine with Klaus and Elena with Stefan. Both couples made their way happily around the room, chatting merrily with producers, writers and executives before heading to the dance floor. He scowled as Katherine and Klaus started dancing closely and several people around them 'Awww'ed. His scowl deepened as Stefan grasped Elena's hand tightly and led her to the dance-floor, where the spotlights perfectly cascaded around the two of them. She was as beguiling as ever as Stefan spun her around into his chest and Damon followed suit and spun around the face the bar.

"Are you going to be spending the entire evening at the bar, handsome?" came a voice from next to him.

He turned his head slowly; he almost didn't have the energy to be hit on. "Who's asking?" he said, giving her a quick once-over. It was the blonde in the red dress from before, the one that blushed when he had swept his gaze from her eyes to her tits.

"Andie," she replied with a coy smile. He had to admit it, she had guts coming up to him when he was evidently drunk and in a mood. Either she was extremely desperate or he was looking better than expected after eight bourbons. Regardless, Damon noticed she had great lips, which she had accentuated with some killer red lipstick. That was always a bonus.

He didn't bother telling her his name. He knew she knew exactly who he was.

She leaned over to whisper in his ear. "I heard this place has an amazing garden," she giggled. If Damon was a little more modest, he would have blushed, but as it was, he was Damon Salvatore - so he shrugged and let her take him by the hand. Her hand was small but firm in his - this was a woman on a serious mission. With one last glance over to the dance floor of happy couples, he reached over the bar and grabbed the bottle of Jack he had been getting his bourbon poured from.

"Happy season two, Damon," he murmured darkly as he downed the last of his glass.

* * *

"A vodka soda, please?" Elena asked wearily. After spending the last hour tripping over her own feet dancing with Stefan, she had left him behind on the dance floor with Rebekah. They seemed a good match somehow - despite the fact that Stefan's crush on her was still going strong. She couldn't shake the feeling that Damon had seen them enter together, and that it was part of the reason he had been acting surly all evening, leaning all over the bar and downing drink after drink. She knew he hadn't just seen her, he had looked at her, with those crystal eyes that pierced souls. And she had certainly noticed him - the epitome of tall, dark and handsome and looking like he just stepped out of a Hugo Boss runway show.

For the most part, the night had gone smoothly. She was extremely grateful to have been asked to attend the party with Stefan, who actually scrubbed up pretty well, all muscles and gelled hair. He had been the perfect gentleman all night, from taking her coat, to grabbing her drinks, to even introducing her to some of the top writers of the network. She had nearly screamed when a team comprised of mainly ex-Gossip Girl writers had introduced themselves to her politely. Despite her best probing, they hadn't gone so far so to confide in her what they were working on, but Elena knew it was something big, a great new show for the network. She made a mental note to ask Rebekah about it on Monday.

The bartender placed her drink on a coaster and as if on cue, Rebekah walked over to her quickly and placed a hand on Elena's elbow. She could immediately feel the tension radiating through her boss and she snapped her eyes to her face.

"Where's Stefan?" Elena asked.

"Never mind that, I left him with Pearl - damn that guy can dance," she said frowning thoughtfully. "I need to ask an extremely annoying favour since I can't find Pearl's assistant." She took a deep breath. "Can you please go check on Damon? Someone just told me he has had a little too much to drink; I don't want him doing or saying anything stupid," Rebekah sighed. "I don't know what's gotten into him lately."

Seeing the concern in her boss' face, Elena pushed away every reservation that was fighting its way to the surface. She could do this, even if it meant facing down with drunk Damon. She could handle normal Damon pretty well - how bad could he really be with a bourbon or two in him?

"Of course, I will find him," she nodded. Forgetting about her drink, she got up off the bar stool quickly and glanced around the room. If there was one thing she knew about Damon Salvatore, it was the fact that you knew when he was in the room because you could feel him everywhere. At least she could - and he wasn't in here. Her eyes were caught by Katherine and Klaus who were arguing quietly across the room to the right of the dance floor. Klaus' hands were grasping Katherine's forearms tightly and Elena felt slightly ill at the sight. At least she knew WHY Damon wasn't having the best of nights.

She resumed her search for him and suddenly her eyes caught the open doorway leading out to the expansive garden. She could see the navy blue sky peeking through the open doorway with small stars littering its landscape. Even from inside, she could see the moon beaming down on them through the sheet of cloud cover. Although it was only a very new moon, Elena felt it's potential radiating around them - the start of something that promised to be great. She realised suddenly that if it was HER and she was trying to get some space, she would have followed the moon.

Walking quickly across the room without bothering to explain herself to Stefan (who was still busy with Pearl), Elena stepped out into the cool night. It was like coming up for air, and though goosebumps erupted on her flesh she revelled in the clarity of the night. The gardens of the Grayson Centre stretched on for a mile or so and she prayed silently that Damon hadn't gone walkabout too far. She couldn't see herself stepping over rosebushes in her heels. Just outside the entrance door was a grand staircase made of a cream marble. It curved and turned for a few levels and at the bottom was four or five rows of hedges. In the strangest way it reminded Elena of Alice in Wonderland and she almost laughed at how much she could relate to Alice at that moment. Nothing seemed more appealing than just heading straight back to Mystic Falls to Jeremy and Jenna and going to sleep.

She gathered herself and started walking down the stairs. She had been given a task and no matter what, she was going to see it through to the end, even if the end was kicking and screaming. She had only walked a third of the way down the staircase when a movement at the bottom caught her eye. A blonde in a red dress screamed 'Jerk!' at someone close to her before running up the staircase herself. As she ran past Elena, she saw tears streaming down her face and Elena ran down quickly to see the cause of the commotion. But she knew; she already knew. It was Damon amongst the first row of hedges, bathed in moonlight.

Picking up her dress and swallowing thickly, Elena rounded on him. "What the hell? What did you do to her?"

Damon, visibly drunk, shrugged off her grasp and started back up the stairs.

"Lay off, I was just telling her to go home. Alone. She didn't take it so well," he explained, nonchalant as ever. "Are you thirsty?" He strode past her and started to take the marble staircase back into the party.

Elena raised her eyebrows and followed him up, ready for him to fall backwards onto her in a moment of clumsy drunkenness. After she caught up with him at the top, he turned to face her, his expression ashen.

"Lena, wait…" She saw him swallow as she turned back, her hair flying around her. It had come undone a little from the bun and curls had begun to hang freely around her face. "Are you here with Stefan?" he asked, locking his blue eyes on hers.

Elena blanched. She was struck suddenly with how strange it was when you wanted someone to ask you a certain question, until you had to answer it.

She opened her mouth and closed it again stupidly. "He asked me on Thursday; I thought it would be nice to get to know people here." Excuses tumbled from her lips far too easily. Excuses she shouldn't have had to give _him._

"Well, you know me," he said, stepping closer to her. He was so close now she could almost smell the pain on him after a night of rejection and far too many bourbons. Heck, she could definitely smell the bourbon. And then there was that other thing. The feeling. The thing between them that she couldn't explain. The thing that had her hoping late at night that he felt it too. And she did know him. In some ways not as well as she knew Bonnie or the receptionist, Caroline, or even Rebekah, but in some ways she knew him better. It was almost like they had skipped every normal friendship convention and had been thrown into being lifelong secret-keeping buddies. At least to him.

Against the midnight blue sky, his perfect skin was flushed from alcohol and his hair was messy with a few stray hairs falling loose onto his forehead. She fought to remain composed and reminded herself they were on a staircase in the middle of a party. This wasn't the time for her to lose herself over a strand of hair falling on perfectly creamy white skin.

"And as lovely as knowing you has been this past week, I thought I might branch out a little," she said, laying the sarcasm on thick.

Damon just laughed hotly. "At least I keep it interesting."

Elena twisted her features into a frown. "A little too interesting if you ask me, Mr Salvatore," she blushed as his surname rolled off her lips.

Thankfully, Damon was no longer looking at her and didn't notice. She followed his line of sight and saw with horror that his gaze had wandered across the room to the right corner of the dance-floor, the same corner she had happened to glance upon as she was leaving the room to look for him. The same corner that Klaus and Katherine were still fighting in, now much louder than before.

It happened in an instant. In an instant she saw the features of Damon's face narrow and focus on where they were standing. In an instant she realised she had failed her task of keeping an eye on Damon. In an instant, she was actually scared for him.

As if he had made the decision in three seconds flat, Damon suddenly whirled away from Elena and was walking across the room in long strides to meet them.

"No, Damon, you can't," Elena blurted as he made a beeline for Klaus, placing a hand on his elbow. Even from a distance she could see Klaus' fingers digging into Katherine's bare arms and she could imagine what it was doing to Damon. What it was going to do was get him kicked out of a job, that's for sure, especially if he was planning on hitting the CEO.

He turned his back to Elena, ignoring her pleas to stop, to slow down.

"Do you know how long I've sat around and done nothing?" he said furiously between steps, gently shrugging off the hand she had placed on his shoulder.

He was angry; he was fuming, actually, and Elena's desperation grew as she saw a vein in his head throb slightly. His eyes fixed on the two of them, he marched through the crowd, pulling off his jacket as he did so. Elena's dread grew as she realised just how serious he really was, and just how powerless she was to stop it.

"I won't be a spectator anymore, Elena. This ends tonight."

And he threw his suit jacket into her helpless arms.

* * *

As I said, second part coming soon. There was still so much of this party to tell. As you can tell, all emotions are rising to the surface. I want to thank my amazing beta and love child Kim ( ohmyninadobreva) who is literally travelling the world but is still beta-ing my story. What I did to deserve her, I will never know!

Let me know what you think of the story and the chapter and also I would love to know some other DE fics that you guys are loving at the moment. I don't actually really read other DE FF but I would love to start so please read and review and let me know what else you like :)

Once again, thanks for reading. Quote above is from 'Do I wanna know?" by the Arctic Monkeys which I think sums up this chapter - or at least Elena's side of it. I am elenasfire on tumblr or elenasfire on Twitter, feel free to pester me for updates ;)

Grace xx


	5. Smother

**AN: The fourth chapter got way too long. Here is part two of the Launch party which is guess is now Chapter 5! I didn't get as many reviews last chapter which sucks because I really love to know what you guys think about how things are going so your feedback helps me improve the story and motivates me to keep going. Hopefully I will be updating a lot more regularly now so I would love to know about how you think things are progressing.**

**I make several references to The Notebook in this chapter. If you haven't seen it, don't even bother reading the chapter. I'm kidding(!) of course, but seriously you should watch it ;) Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

_I'm wasted, losing time _

_I'm a foolish, fragile spine _

_I want all that is not mine _

_I want him but we're not right_

* * *

Elena could feel the blood pumping through her body and pulsing in her ears. She was the only one that could do something, the only one that could stop this. She remembered once when she was little, she had been at a park around the corner from her house with her younger brother, Jeremy. The sun was shining so brightly and the afternoon wind was whipping her long dark hair around her face. An 8-year-old Jeremy was on the swings trying to prove that he could reach the sun if he wanted to, gaining momentum with every swing. Eventually, he'd swung so high that he slipped off and had broken his arm on impact. After she had gotten him home, Elena could still picture the disappointed faces of her parents as they told her that she should have stopped it, that she should have known better.

But what about now? It was ten years later and surely she knew better than to allow a highly intoxicated and heartbroken Damon to beat up the CEO of the network, even if he was a deserving bastard. But what could she do? She could throw herself between Damon and Klaus, but since she weighed about 50 pounds less than either of them, that wasn't going to end well for anyone involved. No, what she really needed was a distraction…

Desperately, she flung her arm forward and with all her strength, pulled Damon around to face her. Luckily, thanks to his inebriated state, he wasn't as strong as usual and melted into her arms quickly, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"What the hell are you doing?" he hissed.

She flung his suit jacket off to the side and grabbed his hand, placing it softly on the small of her back. She noticed his eyes linger on her face as she placed her own hand around his neck before lacing the fingers of her free hand with his.

"Dance with me."

His body went still under hers and she saw something linger in his eyes. To return to his mission of attacking Klaus or to stay and dance with Elena? He turned his head and noticed that Klaus and Katherine had been met by Stefan and Pearl and we're now chatting cordially. Elena thanked the heavens that they had stopped fighting for the time being.

She felt him give in. "Sure."

Victory. No-one was getting fired tonight.

"You know that is a $1500 jacket you just threw on the ground." Damon nodded to where his jacket has been discarded and was now being trodden on by the party's patrons. He winced as a particularly sharp pair of Christian Louboutin's stepped on the collar.

"Like you've actually paid for _anything _in the past year," scoffed Elena.

It was accepted as fact that celebrities got basically everything for free. Just one photo of Damon wearing the Hugo Boss suit would have more than repaid what it cost to gift it to him, especially in LA.

He smirked at her, affirming her statement. "Well, that's not true; I've paid for the odd female acquaintance."

Elena blushed, officially deciding that nothing about Damon Salvatore would surprise her anymore. She could no longer comprehend the time when she had naively thought Damon was just an innocent guy getting his foot in the door of the industry. He was everything she had been warned about and more, and yet she wasn't running.

She noticed he had relaxed his broad shoulders a little and she let out the breath she had been holding since he'd made a beeline for Klaus. Either he had forgotten about his nemesis in three seconds flat or he was playing her so she would drop her guard. She expected the latter and tightened her grip on his shoulder pre-emptively.

"You're repulsive," she shook her head. "Besides, what about Katherine?"

As much of a bad idea as she thought it was to bring up Katherine right now, she wanted to know the answer. Had he been waiting for her this whole time? Was he still waiting, hoping one day she would turn up at his door with a suitcase and confess that it had always been him, Noah and Allie style?

He didn't succeed in masking the look of pain that shot across his features. "What about her?"

Perhaps unintentionally, his eyes darted over to where Katherine was standing in all of her red dress, tanned-skinned, shiny-haired glory. Of course Damon would want her; any guy would. But fall for her? Elena couldn't understand it. Perhaps it was the appeal of wanting someone you couldn't have, someone that was just that little bit unobtainable. That, she thought she might be able to understand.

"You're _not_ Noah, Damon."

He twirled Elena around slowly and she floated back into his arms easily. He crinkled his nose at her. "I'm not _who_?"

She laughed - this guy wasn't caught up on his popular culture. "Noah… from The Notebook." He continued to stare quizzically at her and she sighed. "Allie and Noah were each other's first loves and Allie turns up at his door one day after seven years apart. She is engaged to another guy but in the end she chooses Noah because they challenge each other and fight and have passion, as opposed to just being content."

Damon raised his eyebrows. "He sounds like a dick."

"I'm sure you would get on famously then."

They danced in silence as "Video Games" by Lana Del Rey played in the background and coloured spotlights circled around them. Though she hadn't known him for long, silence with Damon was easy. Her whole life, Elena had talked her way through awkward silences and pauses, feeling the need to fill every moment with conversation. She had talked her way into every job she had ever had, and out of every bad decision. But now, after the insane night they had had, she was happy to be silent and dance with Damon. Inside, she was celebrating the fact that he seemed momentarily calm and was sobering up a little. In fact, the quiet and proximity allowed her to appreciate Damon in all his glory, unbeknownst to him. Because of their height difference, her eyes reached his pink, full lips almost perfectly and she soon realised they were not the most convenient feature for her to be faced with. Being so close to his neck she could also smell the cologne he had obviously put on before coming and the scent was slightly dizzying. And although he was slightly drunk and dishevelled, his dark hair unkempt and his tie undone, her heart constricted at the sight of him.

As they danced, Elena could feel her heart drumming in her chest and could feel the soft pulse of Damon's under her fingers. At work this week she had been close to Damon, many times, and every time she had felt it - the spark that ran between them. She had accepted that he was so out of her league it was ridiculous (not to mention infatuated with Katherine), but the connection they had didn't falter.

"I'm going to to go the bathroom…I need some air." she said, stepping away from him.

If Damon had noticed her discomfort, he didn't show it, and he smirked at her. "I've been told I have that effect," he said to her retreating back.

She winced. If only he knew.

* * *

Elena splashed water on her cheeks and felt relief wash over her. She couldn't tell if it was the dancing or the champagne, but her head was spinning. She had had an exhausting night between trying to make Stefan happy, meeting new people, and playing babysitter to Damon.

Damon Salvatore, possibly the most screwed up, beautiful guy she had ever met. Sometimes she just wanted to scream at him, 'You're a great catch' just so his self-esteem could start to climb its way out of the toilet. Sure, she knew he was a smarmy jerk sometimes - hell most of the time - but underneath the bullshit façade he put up, he was a good person.

"Come on, Elena. Just get through tonight and on Monday, everything will be normal again," she told herself. Maybe talking to yourself was one of the first signs of going insane, but Elena didn't think her life could get any crazier than the past week. Despite starting her job with the intention of having a completely normal experience, she had managed to kiss that goodbye within a few short hours. On top of moving to LA and meeting a plethora of new people, Elena still reminded herself to breathe sometimes.

"Rough night?"

As if out of a movie (what WAS it with this town?) the door of the toilet stall behind her opened and out came the devil herself. Having only previously seen her across the set, Elena was at once struck with how beautiful she was. With long curled chestnut coloured hair and huge brown eyes framed with the longest lashes Elena had ever seen, Katherine was exquisite. Not to to mention the $3000 Elie Saab dress she was donning for the evening that perfectly hugged her curvy figure. It was enough to make Elena feel like she had shown up in her sweats.

Elena thanked the heavens she hadn't said anything too embarrassing out loud and gave Katherine a small smile. "You could say that."

"We haven't gotten a chance to talk properly," Katherine spoke slowly and her voice was husky, more so than Elena had noticed on set. She also noticed the last remnants of a bruise on her cheek, a reminder of the abusive relationship she felt she was trapped in. She stepped closer to Elena and leaned against the countertop. "Are you enjoying the company?" Elena didn't miss the double meaning. On the surface, her words asked if she was enjoying working for the TV Network, but her inflection screamed that she was asking about Damon. She must have spotted them dancing together and Elena relished the thought.

She fixed her with a stony gaze, "It's great. I mean, it's not perfect, but what is? To be honest I think it's been _damaged_ by a few old shows it couldn't let go of." Two could play this game and Elena was in the mood for foul play. What was Katherine trying to do? Get to know her? Thinking back to her semi-naked body mounted on top of Damon's, Elena had seen quite enough of the woman to last an entire lifetime.

Quick as anything, Katherine's eyes narrowed at her comment. Elena went to leave and was stopped by Katherine's bony hand on her forearm. Her touch was icy and Elena felt her pulse quicken. It wasn't that she was scared of Katherine, but she didn't like to be alone with the woman. She was far too manipulative for her liking.

"But sometimes the new shows just mess everything up." She said it softly, but it was enough to have an impact.

Pouting slightly, she shot Elena a meaningful glance before she glided out, swinging her hips seductively as she walked. Elena watched her leave and felt fury coursing through her. If Katherine wanted a war, a war was what she would get.

* * *

Damon felt significantly more sober after Elena left him for the bathroom. He didn't know if it was her, or the alcohol slowly leaving his body, but his mind was clearer than it had been in what felt like forever. Elena was right, he wasn't some romantic hero that landed the girl at the end. He was just a guy that usually lost the people he cared about, and who ended up alone. He scanned the room for Katherine and saw her making her way towards the door on the other side of the room.

He approached her quickly before she left and touched her waist gently. The motion reminded him of what it had been like to hold her and a cold fist clamped its way around his heart. They were standing at the back of the room near the door, under a picture of Klaus that read 'Thank you to our CEO!'. He felt slightly sick to stand this close to it.

She spun around to face him. "What do you want, Damon?" The question was impatient and bitchy and everything that Katherine was.

Damon couldn't help but smile. "For the longest time, I would have said you." He had said it finally, the blunt truth that had been playing on his mind for months. All he had really wanted was her, because in reality, when Katherine was happy and unburdened, she was magnificent. He remembered a day he had shared with her and Stefan when they first started filming, months before she had married Klaus. They had decided to make a day out of Venice Boardwalk, but wanted to ride there instead of the usual quick drive. Damon could remember Katherine's long hair trailing behind her as she sped past him on her bike, nearly knocking him over, but still smiling broadly at him. "You'd better watch out for that one," Stefan had yelled at him.

Damon thought he had fallen in love with her that day as he watched her run at full speed into the water, shedding her layers of clothes as she did so and squealing with delight. He had soon realised that when Katherine was happy, she was the glorious creature he had opened his heart to at his most vulnerable point. But when she wasn't - which lately was most of the time - she carried darkness around her, infecting everyone and everything she came in contact with. Since marrying Klaus, Damon had watched the light leave her eyes as she slowly came to the realisation that she shouldn't have married someone she didn't love. But it was too late. She continued seeing Damon, but she had no love left to give, as if being with Klaus had burned it all away.

Her eyes widened. "Do we have to talk about this now?"

It was time, time to say the words that he should have said months ago. He wasn't Noah and he wasn't going to wait for her to become the girl she had once been, the girl he had fallen in love with. He wasn't going to wait for her for anything.

Keeping his voice steady he said, "No, we don't. In fact, apart from work, you and I have nothing to say to each other anymore."

If she was surprised by his outburst she didn't show it, and she smoothly ran her hands down her dress nonchalantly.

"Is this about the new girl? The writer?"

"Don't you dare bring Elena into this when you have made your choice loud and clear, Katherine. You chose Klaus."

"You say it like I HAD a choice." Her eyes were shining with tears now and as if on cue, Klaus appeared at Katherine's side. Great. This was exactly what Damon needed. Her jerk of a husband to show up just as she was starting to cry.

"Is everything okay here, mate?"

Damon rolled his eyes. First at the fact that Klaus had called him mate, when he was anything but a mate, and second, he hadn't even thought to ask his _wife_ if everything was okay, but had turned straight to Damon. Damon had never gotten on too well with Klaus, and usually put it down to him being a grade-A dick; however, since learning about the inner workings of his marriage to Katherine, he had realised something else about the CEO - he was a power hungry, egotistical villain that stopped at nothing to get what he wanted.

Klaus took in the entire scene with a fiery gaze and saw Damon facing Katherine, who still had tears in her eyes. He put a hand on Damon's shoulder, separating the two of them. "Step away, mate," he said in his thick British tone.

Damon stepped closer to him, brushing off his arm. "Don't fucking lay a finger on me, _mate. _I'm not your wife."

He said the last bit quietly as to not attract attention. He didn't want to crash the party, for the sake of Pearl, but he wanted Klaus to know: he knew what he was doing to Katherine, and it wasn't okay, not with him.

He leaned in to whisper, "As a matter-of-fact, the next time you lay a finger on her will the last time you _have_ fingers."

Klaus' eyes widened but he said nothing. He did, however, stare daggers into Damon and step back towards to his wife, snaking an arm around her waist. Katherine sniffed but said nothing.

And Damon walked off, throwing his jacket over his shoulder as he did so.

* * *

The cool August breeze whipping around her, Elena stepped back outside onto the marble steps. One of the many things she loved about California was the fact that the days were gloriously long and the nights were balmy. The final days of summer were closing in on them and she could feel the whispers of cooler weather about to take over. But now, she stood watching the final remnants of the sun kiss the horizon goodbye, and Stefan's silhouette highlighted in navy and gold on the third bottom step of the grand staircase.

"You remembered me…" he said as she approached him, treading the staircase carefully in her heels. He didn't seem upset or bitter, and Elena got the feeling those emotions weren't really his thing. His demeanour told her he was simply exhausted and resigned.

"I…"

"It's okay, Elena. I saw you dancing with Damon. I know you have a thing for him."

Elena would have laughed out loud if it weren't for the expression on his face that told her he was deadly serious. "Me? And Damon? God, Stefan, no. I was looking after him because Rebekah asked me to keep an eye on him, because he was drunk and she didn't want him embarrassing us, that's all."

Stefan almost smiled. "Elena, come on, you looked after him because Rebekah wanted you to, but you danced with him because YOU wanted to."

Elena blanched. Stefan knew Damon hated Klaus, but she didn't want to reveal that Damon would have punched him in the middle of the party if she hadn't intervened. She stared back at Stefan and he closed the distance between them. She didn't have an answer for him, and she didn't want to lie, so she said nothing as the party buzzed around them.

"You're going to be amazing at this job; you know that, right?" He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Elena didn't bother telling him the strand was meant to be hanging loose by her face.

"Thank you, Stefan," she grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. It wasn't fireworks or magic or even the tiniest hint of a spark, but it was nice and comfortable and safe, and right now, exactly what she needed. Her mind was still whirling with thoughts of Katherine, of dancing with Damon, and a wave of exhaustion swept over her. She felt like she hadn't slept properly in months.

Letting go of Stefan's hand, she stepped towards one of the long black cars in the driveway. "I should go home. I think I'm done for tonight."

"See you Monday?"

"Monday. So we can do it all again."

* * *

Damon ran his fingers through his hair as he passed out on his couch the second he got into his apartment. What a night. The alcohol had well and truly worn off now, and his mind was pulling him to sleep at a rapid pace. What a night…

Two hours later, Damon was awoken suddenly by an urgent knock on the door. He sat up quickly, disorientated since he had fallen asleep on his couch fully clothed. Begrudgingly, he walked to his door. Katherine used to come very late at night to see him, but she hadn't in a long time.

As he swung the door open, he was met with history repeating itself, and Katherine Pierce standing on the threshold. The sight that had once filled him with simultaneous arousal, happiness, and excitement now just filled his stomach with dread. What could she possibly want? At 2am, nonetheless. He sighed, exhausted.

"Katherine, what are you doing here? I told you, I'm done."

He knew it sounded harsh, but he meant every word. Not only did she have the nerve to wake him up in the middle of the night, she still felt she could run to him when things in her life - the life _she_ chose - weren't going smoothly. She had been crying; that much was obvious. Black makeup was running down her usually flawless face and the curls of her hair had been pinned up in a knot on the top of her head. She was wearing the same dress as earlier, but had thrown a mismatched cardigan over the top and had discarded her heels and was wearing simple ballet flats. Despite his anger at her, Damon couldn't help but feel for her more than he ever had, but it wasn't love; it was pity.

Her lower lip trembled. "So am I, Damon."

His eyes scanned hers. If she was done, why the hell was she here in the middle of the night looking like something the cat had dragged in?

"I left Klaus."

Damon felt his breath escape him, flowing quickly from his ribcage. This couldn't be happening. The very same night he tells Katherine he doesn't want anything to do with her is the night she finally walks away from her toxic marriage? The same night she finally chooses him? Damon realised quickly that sometimes the words you wait for are not so sweet once you hear them.

"Can I stay with you tonight?"

It wasn't really a question, and the Damon that didn't want to take crap from Katherine Pierce anymore - the Damon that didn't want to be manipulated - screamed at him as he beckoned for her to come inside. The other Damon, the one that had loved this girl for the past year of his life, who couldn't bear to see her in pieces, won. She needed him right now, and whatever angry tirade was going on inside his head, he couldn't erase everything that had happened between them.

But as he closed her door behind her, allowing her access back into life, all he could hear was Elena's voice ringing in his ears, the image of her blushing cheeks running circles in his mind, her sly smile commanding, "_Dance with me._"

* * *

**I know I said this one would come basically straight away but I have rewritten most of it over the last few days. I got a sudden burst of inspiration that took it in a different direction so I went with that instead.**

**As always, thank you to my angel Kim, (who is FF writer kimbuhlay and twitter ohmyninadobreva) for beta-ing this story. Who knows, maybe one day I will learn how to use a comma and I won't need her but it doesn't seem likely.**

**Song for title and quote is 'Smother' by Daughter. Hope you liked the chapter. Please review and let me know your thoughts! **

**Grace x**


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